Monday March 21, 2011 is World Poetry Day. UNESCO or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared the holiday in 1999. The idea behind the celebration was to, “Give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional, and international poetry movements.” The UN wants to promote both reading and writing poetry by placing it back into the curriculum more often and in appealing ways. Also UNESCO wants to reintegrate oral tradition and recitals into the classroom.
As our schools become more heavily reliant on technology what is special about this year’s upcoming celebration in terms of poetry? The NYTimes is discussing “Twitterature” and its leanings toward poetry. As the article explains the first “Tweet” was sent out five years ago on the same day as World Poety Day and that the social networking site has been linked to literature since its earliest days. The 140 character limit does put some constraints on the writer, but it can also force students to be selective and purposeful in their writings.
“Twitterature” was a book published in 2009 that shrunk 80 of the most recognizable pieces of literature in 140 character tweets. The “Twiterature” back cover offers this, “Twitterature provides everything you need to master the literature of the civilized world while relieving you of the burdensome task of reading it.” Also, haiku’s have recently entered the twitter realm and become popular mainstays often referred to as “twaikus.”
Interested in getting involved in World Poetry Day celebrations? Twitter is asking for original poems to be submitted. Click here to see a few examples the NYTimes has posted.
Overview
Monday March 21, 2011 is World Poetry Day. UNESCO or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared the holiday in 1999. The idea behind the celebration was to, “Give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional, and international poetry movements.” The UN wants to promote both reading and writing poetry by placing it back into the curriculum more often and in appealing ways. Also UNESCO wants to reintegrate oral tradition and recitals into the classroom.
As our schools become more heavily reliant on technology what is special about this year’s upcoming celebration in terms of poetry? The NYTimes is discussing “Twitterature” and its leanings toward poetry. As the article explains the first “Tweet” was sent out five years ago on the same day as World Poety Day and that the social networking site has been linked to literature since its earliest days. The 140 character limit does put some constraints on the writer, but it can also force students to be selective and purposeful in their writings.
“Twitterature” was a book published in 2009 that shrunk 80 of the most recognizable pieces of literature in 140 character tweets. The “Twiterature” back cover offers this, “Twitterature provides everything you need to master the literature of the civilized world while relieving you of the burdensome task of reading it.” Also, haiku’s have recently entered the twitter realm and become popular mainstays often referred to as “twaikus.”
Interested in getting involved in World Poetry Day celebrations? Twitter is asking for original poems to be submitted. Click here to see a few examples the NYTimes has posted.
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